Royal date night! Prince Harry, Meghan attend ‘Lion King’ premiere in London

Former actress Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, is no stranger to a red carpet.

But on Sunday, the duchess marked her first red carpet as a royal when she and Prince Harry attended the European premiere of “The Lion King” in London’s Leicester Square.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left their newborn son, Archie, at home for their parents’ night out.

The original version of “The Lion King” is of special significance to the couple. Harry has named it as one of his favorite movies and has said he and Meghan watched it on a date night.

The version Harry and Meghan watched at Sunday’s premiere is a live-action revamp of the 1994 original Disney film, starring everyone from Beyonce to Donald Glover, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen and Chance the Rapper.

In honor of the film’s release, Disney launched Protect the Pride, a global conservation campaign that counts among its partners The Royal Foundation, the charitable initiative of Prince Harry and Meghan and Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Harry has long been a supporter of conservation efforts, particularly in Africa, where he took Meghan to visit in the early weeks of their courtship.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also planning to make an official visit to Africa this fall. It is expected the couple will bring Archie with them too.

Meghan has been on maternity leave since giving birth to Archie in May but has made several public appearances in recent days. She attended Wimbledon twice, including joining Duchess Kate at Saturday’s final.

She also stepped out with Kate earlier in the week, with Archie in tow, to watch Harry and Prince William compete in a charity polo match.

“The Lion King” opens nationwide Friday, July 19 from Disney, parent company of ABC News.

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